Terrence Frederick Malick (/ˈmælɪk/; born November 30, 1943)[1] is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning over four decades he has directed six feature films. He made his directorial debut with the drama Badlands in 1973. Malick released his second film, the drama Days of Heaven, in 1978, after which he took a long hiatus from directing films. His third film, the World War II drama The Thin Red Line, was released in 1998. Seven years later he released his fourth film, the romantic historical drama The New World, which was followed by the critically acclaimed and 2011 Palme d'Or winner The Tree of Life, an experimental drama. The following year saw the release of the sixth film directed by Malick, the romantic drama art film To the Wonder.

Those rambling philosophical voiceovers; the placid images of nature, offering quiet contrast to the evil deeds of men; the stunning cinematography, often achieved with natural light; the striking use of music – here is a filmmaker with a clear sensibility and aesthetic who makes narrative films that are neither literary nor theatrical, in the sense of foregrounding dialogue, event, or character, but are instead principally cinematic, movies that suggest narrative, emotion, and idea through image and sound.

Following the release of Days of Heaven, Malick began developing a project for Paramount, titled Q, that explored the origins of life on earth. During pre-production, he suddenly moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.[21] During this time, he wrote a number of screenplays, including The English Speaker, about Josef Breuer's analysis of Anna O.; adaptations of Walker Percy's The Moviegoer and Larry McMurtry's The Desert Rose;[21] a script about Jerry Lee Lewis; and a stage adaptation of Sansho the Bailiff that was to be directed by Andrzej Wajda, in addition to continuing work on the Q script.[22] Malick's work on Q eventually became the basis for his 2011 film The Tree of Life.[23]

After learning of Malick's work on an article about Che Guevara during the 1960s, Steven Soderbergh offered Malick the chance to write and direct a film about Guevara that he had been developing with Benicio del Toro. Malick accepted and produced a screenplay focused on Guevara's failed revolution in Bolivia.[26] After a year and a half, the financing had not come together entirely, and Malick was given the opportunity to direct The New World,[27] a script he had begun developing in the 1970s.[28] Consequently, he left the Guevara project in March 2004.[27] Soderbergh went on to direct Che.

The New World, which featured a romantic interpretation of the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, was released in 2005. Over one million feet of film was shot for the film, and three different cuts of varying length were released. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but received generally mixed reviews during its theatrical run,[29] though it has since been hailed as one of the best films of the decade.[30][31][32]

More than any other active filmmaker Mr. Malick belongs in the visionary company of homegrown romantics like Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Hart Crane and James Agee. The definitive writings of these authors did not sit comfortably or find universal favor in their own time. They can still seem ungainly, unfinished, lacking polish and perfection. This is precisely what makes them alive and exciting: "Moby-Dick," "Leaves of Grass," "The Bridge" and "A Death in the Family" lean perpetually into the future, pushing their readers forward toward a new horizon of understanding.

During the weekend of September 16, 2011, Malick was photographed and caught on film while on set for one of the first times ever, while he and a small crew were following Christian Bale and Haley Bennett around the Austin City Limits Music Festival as part of preliminary shooting for Lawless.[40][41] He was also seen directing Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara at the Fun Fun Fun Fest on the weekend on November 4, 2011.[41][42] In early 2012, the title Lawless was given to The Weinstein Company's Lawless, leaving Malick's project untitled.[40] He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other people.[43]

Concurrent with the two features, Malick has been working on an Imax documentary, titled Voyage of Time. The Hollywood Reporter described it as "a celebration of the Earth, displaying the whole of time, from the birth of the universe to its final collapse." The film expands on the footage that special effects luminaries Douglas Trumbull (2001) and Dan Glass (The Matrix) created for The Tree of Life. Brad Pitt was signed to do the narration. Footage from the film was screened for investors at the Cannes Film Festival and world sales rights were picked up by The Wild Bunch. A targeted 2016 release date was announced.[44]

Malick is famously protective of his private life.[45] His contracts stipulate that his likeness may not be used for promotional purposes, and he routinely declines requests for interviews.[21][46]

From 1970 to 1976, Malick was married to Jill Jakes.[47] His companion afterward in the late 1970s was director and screenwriter Michie Gleason.[47] In 1985 he married a Frenchwoman,[47] Michèle Marie Morette,[48][49] whom he met in Paris in 1980; in 1996, Malick asked for a divorce, which was granted.[47][49] Afterward he married Alexandra "Ecky" Wallace, the best friend of his high-school sweetheart.[50]

^ abBlackall, Luke (May 24, 2011). "The secret life of Terrence Malick". The Independent (UK). Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2013. Michele Morette, his late ex-wife of 13 years, revealed that while they were together she wasn't allowed into his office, and that he would rather buy her a copy of a book than lend her his own.

Crofts, Charlotte. 'From the "Hegemony of the Eye" to the "Hierarchy of Perception": The Reconfiguration of Sound and Image in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven', Journal of Media Practice, 2:1, 2001, 19–29.